


The Secret Life of Spelling Bees

by Fandomsforinfinity



Category: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - Finn/Sheinkin/Reiss
Genre: I do not know how to use ao3 tags, Other, tumblr headcanons made me sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 04:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16757926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fandomsforinfinity/pseuds/Fandomsforinfinity
Summary: Olive's mother left in August and said she would be back in nine months. It was August again, and Olive still hadn't heard from her. Now she knew why.





	The Secret Life of Spelling Bees

It was August. It was a hot, sunny, humid, and not particularly notable August day, except for the fact that it was August again. Last August, Olive Ostrovsky’s life had completely changed when her mother left for what she called a “spiritual quest” in India for nine months. Or, at least that’s what she told Olive. _“I have to leave for a little while,”_ she had said. How long was a little while? _“About nine months.”_ And she’d be back after that, right? And Olive could try to come with her! Nine months wasn’t so long to be away. “ _I have to do this alone. Can you promise me that? Promise me.”_ Olive reluctantly agreed, but she packed a bag anyway, just in case. She stayed up a little later that night, but she eventually had to go to bed, and her mother was gone in the morning. Olive was wrong before. Nine months was a long time to be away. Twelve months was even longer. Olive was thinking about all this as she sat in the bathroom because, well, it was August.

The sound of a door opening made Olive look up from the dictionary she had been reading before she got lost in thought. It was a little early for her dad to be home, since he usually worked late. It was only 5:30. Maybe he was actually going to be home for dinner! Olive closed the book, laid it on top of the toilet, and rushed to see if her dad was home. Sure enough, he was sitting on the couch in the living room. Olive was a little nervous to speak to him. A weak “hi” was all she could manage. Her dad waved his hand in response, the gesture similar to the motion one might make if one was swatting a fly away. An awkward moment of silence.

“You’re home,” Olive tried again.

“Yeah,” her dad grunted in response.

More silence, and then, “Has the mail come yet? I can go get it if—” Olive had already started walking towards the door when she was cut off.

“Already got it. Nothing for you.”

“Oh.” Olive’s entire body slumped. Was there really nothing in the mail? It had been almost a year without any letters or even postcards from her mother. But if her dad said there was nothing, then there was nothing. She couldn’t look through the mail herself to check. She made her way back towards the couch and stood beside it.

Yet another period of silence between them. “Um, it’s August.”

Her dad turned to look at her for the first time. “Yeah?”

The sudden eye contact made Olive nervous and she averted her gaze downward. “Oh, um, nothing. It’s just August.”

“Yeah?” her dad repeated, more forcefully this time, like he was becoming irritated. “Nothing,” Olive replied, pulling her head into her chest. She started picking at the fabric of her shirt. She was no longer looking at her dad, but she could feel his eyes on her, and she felt that he wanted her to continue. Her voice came out higher and softer. “It’s just that, um, it’s been almost a year since—“

Her dad turned away and put a fist down on a table next to him, and Olive flinched at the noise. “I’m sorry,” she squeaked. There was more silence and Olive slowly untensed. Her dad was staring at a wall and not looking at Olive anymore. She thought she might try again. This time, she was more blunt.

“When’s Mama coming home?” she asked softly. Olive watched her dad’s jaw and fist clench and was scared that she said something wrong. She wanted to flee or at least curl up to take cover, but she couldn’t move. Luckily, her dad just sighed.

“She’s not coming home. Sit down.”

Olive did as she was told and sat down on the couch next to her dad. There was a heavier moment of silence that passed between them. Her dad rubbed his temples. He breathed in and said, “There was an accident.”

Olive’s eyes widened and her heart rate quickened. “An accident?”

“Yes,” her father sighed. “An accident. With a gun.” Olive looked away and was close to hyperventilating. “I’m sorry, Olive,” her dad said, and the way his voice and his eyes were almost pleading showed that he truly meant it. “She would have been home a lot sooner, but she got into some fight, and he—someone—” Her dad’s voice kept breaking. It was difficult news to tell. “The other person, he pulled out a gun and—and she tried to take it from him, to try to defend herself and—and there was a gunshot and—” Her dad’s voice broke completely and there were tears in his eyes.

_And you weren’t going to tell me?_ Olive thought. But that was too harsh to say out loud, and the news was emotional for them both. Olive couldn’t say anything if she wanted to. She was frozen in shock. Her heart kept beating faster and faster, and soon her breathing would increase its rate as well. Her dad got up from the couch, but Olive couldn’t move. Everything felt fuzzy and far away. There was no way this was really happening.

Her dad came back and sat down on the couch again. “Olive, I’m so sorry,” he pleaded. Olive turned to look at him and saw that he was drinking. She knew better than to stay.

“I’m sorry, too,” Olive said before running to the bathroom and locking the door before her dad could say or do anything else.

It was August, and, yet again, Olive Ostrovsky’s life had completely changed.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time posting here and it's with something I wrote pretty quickly and barely edited, so sorry. I just have a lot of feelings about the bee. I hope it isn’t too bad!


End file.
